After a long drive we arrived in the small town of Teanau and after visiting the info centre decided to head half way up the well known Milford Road towards the Milford Sounds. As we could not afford to do the cruises or kayaking at the end of the 121km drive we decided to head around 80km of the way up and see the sights along the way. Our first stop was mirror lakes which are small lakes set amongst the grass and reflects the Earl mountains opposite. The water was so clear and the mountains actually looked like they were in the water. We then came across "the avenue of disappearing mountains" where the mountains appeared to be sinking into the ground as you drove. This was a slight disappointment as it was given lots of hype by the info people and anyone with common sense could tell that as we were driving on a incline, logic suggests the mountains would be going lower!

We then drove over the 45th South Parallel (the line halfway between the equator and the South Pole). That night we stayed at a camp site overlooking the Eglington river and relaxed with the river outside our window. The next day we drove further up Milford Road to Cascade Creek and Lake Gunn, where we did a nature walk. The forest was a spectacular mass of green, as everything was covered in thick moss including all the tree trunks. Further on the walk we came Lake Gunn which was rushing and huge, giving the impression of a sea. We went up to the lookout point over the lake before heading back towards Teanau stopping on the way at a campsite for the night.